Game



Aug. 1, 1939. RAUSHER 2,168,171

. GAME I Filed July 14, 1938 Patented Aug. 1, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE GAME Arthur L. Rausher, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 14,-1938, Serial N 219,235 2 laims. 1? 27 -96)" Thisinvention relates to games and more particularly to indoormanuallynperated games of skill.

One of the objects of the invention is the pro- 5.. vision of a new andimproved game wherein is employed a board having pawns or objectsthereon which are adapted to be projected into the air by striking thesame with a bat, striking implement or playing stick and caught by theplayer in a receptacle mounted on the bat or playing stick.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedgame that is inexpensive to manufacture, highly entertaining, easilylearned and a game in which skill plays an extremely important part.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the board and objectsthereon;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the playing rod or stick;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the objects; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference character I!) designates theboard on which the game is played. This board may be of the usual or anywell known type, either foldable or otherwise as is common in suchconstructions. The board is provided with a ring or circle ll withinwhich a plurality of objects !2 are placed. These objects are adapted tobe struck by a playing stick lit to cause them to be projected into theair and to be caught in a receptacle mounted on the stick.

The objects l2 are of different classes and except for two of theclasses, there are a plurality of objects in each class. For convenienceof description, the different groups or sets of objects l2 will bedesignated by the reference characters l2a, I27), I20 and Md with theadditional objects !2e and I27.

The groups l2a, lzb, E20 and I2d will each contain a plurality ofobjects of the same color for each group but of different colors for thedifferent groups, as for instance, the individual objects for the groupl2a will be white in color, |2b will be green, I20 will be red and l2dwill be brown. Any desired number of groups may be provided,fcur beingshown for illustrative purposes. If desired, in order to increaseinterest in the game, the objects may have their upper surface eitherpainted or carved to simulate an animal, insect, or the like. In theform of the construction employedto illustrate the invention, theobjects of the difierent groups have the image of abeetle or bugfon eachside. Asshowmthese beetles are ormed" b rai ed p ons .1 me s faceo t eobject's, Figs. '3 and {LflTheobject '26 has the image of a spider onitwhich may be colored'black' and the object [2 has the image of aladybug which may be spotted, as shown.

Each of the objects l2 may be considered as being formed of any suitablematerial and is preferably, though not necessarily, rectangular in plan.Each object has one end rabbeted or undercut to form an overhangingprojection l4 and its other end reversely rabbeted or overcut to form aprojection l5 which, when the object is turned upside down, will form anoverhanging portion similar to that shown at M.

The playing stick or rod I3 is an elongated member which is adapted tobe held in the hand of the operator, as shown in Fig. 2. The outer orfree end may be provided with a rubber tip l6 and the inner end of theplaying stick is provided with a receptacle l1 rigidly mounted thereonwhich will be adjacent to the hand of the operator.

In the playing of the game, the operator, by means of the playing stickl3, taps or strikes the overhanging portion or projection l4 of a bugwhich causes the same to leap or to be projected into the air and theoperator attempts to catch or capture the same in the receptacle I!which, if accomplished, counts a predetermined number of points for theplayer.

Any suitable rules may be employed for playing the game but thefollowing have been found to be very satisfactory. The objects are allplaced within the circle on the board in no particular order but areseparated sufliciently far apart that they may be tapped with theplaying stick IS. The players take turns in tapping or striking thebugs, the white bugs being removed first, then the green, the red andfinally the brown. When a player taps one of the bugs and fails to catchit in the receptacle I1, he loses his turn. If he catches the bug in thereceptacle, it will count a predetermined number of points; forinstance, the white bugs may each count 5, the green 10, the red 15 andthe brown 20, as indicated at 30 on the drawing. Any bug accidentallymoved without the ring or circle I I must be replaced within the ring. Aplayer continues to play until he fails to catch the object in thereceptacle l7. When, however, he catches two bugs in succession, then hemust strike the spider and if he catches the spider in the receptacle,he

proceeds as before in striking a bug and catching the same. If however,he fails to catch the spider in the receptacle, he loses his turn and ispenalized by being compelled to return the last bug caught to the board.When all of the bugs 1 of the different groups have been removed fromthe board, the next player taps the ladybug and if it is caught withinthe receptacle, he is credited with an additional fifty points. If,however, he misses, the next player takes his turn and so on until theladybug is caught within the receptacle. Any predetermined number ofpoints, which, with the values given above, are multiples of a hundred,as agreed to by the players, may constitute a game. The values given thedifferent objects may be varied as agreed to by the players, the valuesgiven above being for illustrative purposes only.

It is thought from the foregoing, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, that the construction and operation of my devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art and that changes in size,shape, proportion and details of construction may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A playing stick for striking the overhanging portions of a gamingobject for projecting the same into the air, said stick being straightand rectangular in cross-section throughout its length, a rubber tip onthe striking end of said stick, and a receptacle opening upwardly onsaid stick adjacent to its opposite end and adjacent to the hand of theoperator when the stick is in use, said receptacle being adapted tocatch the projected object.

2. A playing stick for striking an object having parallel upper andlower surfaces provided with an undercut on one end of said object andan overcut on the other end thereof, said stick being rectangular incross-section and of substantially uniform cross-sectional areathroughout its length and having a rubber tip on its outer end and areceptacle on one of its sides adjacent to the inner end thereof andopening upwardly whereby said object, when struck with said stick by aplayer, will be projected upward and may be caught in said receptacle bysaid operator Without rotating said stick.

ARTHUR. L. RAUSHER.

